Superstitious Beliefs Of Tamils/Part:03

A[sneezing & hiccups]/Based on Tamil article 

"A fit of sneezing threatened, but it passed away; 
He seemed to think of me, but do his fancies stray?!"--Kural 1203 

Meaning of the Quote:I feel as if I am going to sneeze but do not, and (therefore) my beloved is about to think (of me) but does not.

"I would my love conceal, but like a sneeze It shows itself, and gives no warning sign."--Kural 1253:
Meaning:I would conceal my lust, but alas, it yields not to my will but breaks out like a sneeze.

"One day we silent sulked; he sneezed: The reason well I knew; 
He thought that I, to speak well pleased, Would say, 'Long life to you!"--Kural 1312
Meaning : When I continued to be sulky he sneezed and thought I would (then) wish him a long life.

"She hailed me when I sneezed one day; But straight with anger seized, She cried; 'Who was the woman, pray, Thinking of whom you sneezed?"--Kural 1317
Meaning : When I sneezed she blessed me, but at once changed (her mind) and wept, asking, "At the thought of whom did you sneeze?"

Each time you sneeze, you probably don’t give it a lot of thought. After all, we’ve been sneezing since the time we were babies and we all know that it is caused by when foreign particles enter our nose and irritate the nasal mucous. But sneezes are not as simple as they seem; they are associated with lots of beliefs and superstitions around the world.

Bless you!

During the old ages, it was believed that one’s heart stopped beating when one sneezed. So if you are still alive after a sneeze, that’s because someone must have blessed you!.In Tamil Nadu and Kerala it is considered inauspicious to sneeze upon an idea or journey, just like the north Indians; though a subsequent sneeze cancels the effect of the first one.However the general response towards a sneeze in India is by blessing the person to live long; like in Bihar it is ‘Chattanji’, in Oriya it is ‘Buda/budi te hai tha’, in Tamil it is ‘nooru aayisu/ deerghaayisu’, in Kashmiri it is ‘Bismillah/ Kustaan chu yaad karan’.

In the Badaga community of the Tamils, it is considered a good omen if the father sneezes before the umbilical cord has been cut when the baby is born.

Many such beliefs are widely practiced world over.Some other popular superstitions are if a person hiccups, it is believed that someone is talking about him or remembering him. One theory holds that this is a way of keeping alive the memory of family members who are travelling or live far away.

Kalithokai 51, Poet Kapilar – Kurinji Thinai – what the heroine said to her friend

"Listen my bright bangled friend! That untamed brat 
who used to kick our little sand houses 
that we built, with his leg, 
pull our flower strands from our hair, 
and yank the striped ball from us, 
and caused us agony,
came one day when mother and I were at home. 
“O, people of this house, please give me some water to drink” he said.
Mother said to me, “Pour the water in the thick gold vessel, and give it to him to drink,my daughter with bright jewels”.
And so I went unknowingly, 
that he had come there. 
He seized my bangled arm, and pressed it, and scared me.
“Mother, look at what he has done”, I shouted. 
Mother came with a distress cry,
I said to her “he had hiccups while drinking water”. 
Mother stroked his back gently, and asked him to drink slowly.
He looked at me through the corners of his eyes, 
smiled, and gave me killer looks, 
And what pleasure he gave me – that thief"
.
Most simple cases of hiccups come after eating or drinking too much or too quickly. The stomach, which is situated right below the diaphragm, becomes distended and irritates it. This will cause the diaphragm to contract, as it does when we breathe in.

[Kandiah Thillai vinayagalingam]